Driving innovation at Drupa 2024

Drupa 2024, the world's largest print exhibition (held once in 4 years), returned triumphantly to Düsseldorf, Germany, after an eight-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the first Drupa since 2016, it dispelled doubts about the relevance of physical events in a post-pandemic world increasingly embracing digital alternatives. Print is alive and thriving, fueled by innovation, collaboration, and Adobe's cutting-edge raster image processor (RIP) technology — Adobe PDF Print Engine.

Drupa 2024 showcased the print industry's latest advancements, with Adobe PDF Print Engine at the center of many groundbreaking innovations. This technology remains the backbone of the modern print industry, driving the evolution of print workflows, devices, and applications. Adobe's RIP technology has consistently been one of the cornerstones at Drupa, supporting the industry's transition from offset to digital and from PostScript to native PDF and JDF workflows, cementing its critical role in the future of print.

Adobe, PDF, and Adobe print technology at the heart of Drupa

Adobe PDF Print Engine and other Adobe print technologies were at the core of Drupa 2024, driving innovation across the industry. Numerous devices on display, both new and previewed, were powered by the Adobe PDF Print Engine, whether through homegrown Digital Front Ends developed by OEMs or via our partners like Fiery that provide bespoke RIP solutions to a wide array of established and evolving market sectors.

Adobe's impact extended beyond RIP technology. Many workflow solutions at Drupa utilized the Adobe PDF Library to ensure consistent, high-quality PDF processing, viewing, and editing, faithfully preserving design integrity. Additionally, several vendors continued to rely on Adobe PostScript, which supports established markets, specific applications, and targeted geographies.

Drupa 2024 reaffirmed PDF's position as the preferred format for sharing content across print, online, and mobile platforms. The event showcased the widespread use of PDF in both established and emerging print markets, including office and enterprise printing, highlighting Adobe's crucial role in enabling seamless workflow solutions and high-performance print devices. Throughout the event, Adobe continued to champion PDF and drive industry thought leadership through seminars, press interviews (1, 2, 3), and strategic advertising, reinforcing its commitment to the future of print.

Adobe's commitment to Drupa 2024 was underscored by the strong presence of our global Print Team, with senior representatives from the Print HQ in Noida (India), Product Management teams from the USA and Canada, and the local EMEA account team all in attendance. The event provided a valuable opportunity for our team to engage face-to-face with our partners, explore the latest innovations, and witness firsthand the new product launches and devices powered by Adobe technology. In addition to these interactions, Adobe actively engaged with the press and Drupa visitors through theater presentations and interviews, evangelizing the power of Adobe RIP technology and the critical role of PDF in the print industry. Adobe also made significant investments in marketing at Drupa 2024, with strategic advertisements in the Drupa Daily highlighting our capabilities and technologies across new and emerging market sectors, reinforcing our unwavering support for partners and OEMs at the show.

Key takeaways from Drupa 2024

• Innovation in inkjet printing: Major vendors and OEMs launched new products in the high-speed roll-fed and B2 sheet-fed segments. Inkjet devices now feature more colors and higher-frequency heads, enabling high-speed, single-pass printing on innovative substrates with offset-quality output and a remarkable color gamut, emulating a high percentage of Pantone colors.
• Textile printing growth: Drupa highlighted textile printing as a significant growth sector. Adobe supported the Touchpoint Textile forum, showcasing the PDF Print Engine and the benefits of PDF over analog and image-based workflows.
• Advances in digital packaging: The evolution of digital packaging and labels continued, particularly in the carton board and corrugated segments with inkjet technology. Adobe sponsored the Touchpoint Packaging forum, emphasizing how PDF-driven design and production workflows are transforming the packaging industry, fully supported by the features in the latest version of the PDF Print Engine.
• Innovative embellishment solutions: The event showcased advancements in in-line and offline embellishment solutions, featuring new special colors, effects, and extended gamut printing. These innovations, driven by toner and inkjet technology, relied on PDF to deliver content, embellishment, and non-print data to devices.
• Industry partnership: Our partners Fiery, GIS, and Esko announced a new collaboration to meet the broad and bespoke needs of industrial printing with Adobe-based DFE and RIP solutions.
• E-commerce and online design tools: The rise of e-commerce and tools like Adobe Express has broadened content creation to a diverse user base. This has led to increased personalized and variable data jobs. This drives the need for highly automated, optimized PDF workflows that handle diverse files without errors, particularly on high-speed inkjet devices.
• AI, ML, and IoT in Printing: Drupa 2024 showcased the first practical uses of AI, machine learning, and IoT in embedded print software and workflows. These technologies simplify user experiences and enable proactive fault diagnosis, preventative maintenance, and correction.

Summary

Drupa 2024 was a resounding success, not just for the event itself, but for what it represented: the enduring relevance and vitality of the print industry. Adobe PDF Print Engine was at the heart of some of this success, powering the innovations and pushing the boundaries of what's possible in print. Our experience at Drupa and feedback from partners and OEMs will help drive the next generation of PDF RIP and workflow technology. As the industry looks to the future, Adobe is committed to continuing our support for OEMs and partners, driving innovation, and enabling creativity for all. The future of print is bright, and Adobe is proud to lead the way.